Absolute DC Part 2: Those New Guys by Red-Rum-18
Long before his tenure with the Justice League, Barry Allen, The Flash, was the celebrity superhero of Los Angeles, California. Not only did he have wealth, sponsorship deals, and high-society parties to attend, he was also the host of the popular superhero-themed reality TV show, “The Phonebooth”. Best friends and engineering students Mike Carter and Ted Kord, in their “superhero personas” of Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle, were two of the contestants on the first season, but both came in second and third to Nate Adams and his persona Captain Atom. When the news spread worldwide about The Syndicate’s actions, Mike and Ted decided to do more than just pretend to be superheroes. They rededicated their efforts in engineering and computing to bring their personas to life, and use them to actually fight evil and crime wherever they can find it.
And maybe make some money on the side…
Ted was opposed to using his heroic identity to make money, and wants to actually help people. And Mike agreed, but said that they’ll need money to support their crime-fighting efforts, so why not take a sponsorship deal, or two, like The Flash did? They were arguing about this in their workshop, while Ted was working on “The Bug”, a prototype VTAL airship they would use to travel and patrol, and Mike was working on SCTS (Sensory, Control, and Telecommunication System), an artificially-intelligent patrol drone. That’s when a bolt of lightning peeled through the rainy night sky and crashed through the window of their workshop, striking the SCTS. Mike and Ted were thrown against the wall by the blast and Mike rushed to the charred remains of his drone. To both guys’ surprise, the machine whirled to life and lifted itself into the air on it’s tri-coordinate jet boosters. The LED screen displayed the blue, pixelated face Mike intended for and chirped a happy greeting. Mike and Ted declared that the AI was a success, along with the other features of the SCTS drone. They then decided to shorten the pronunciation of SCTS to “Skeets”.
Two weeks later, a nearby mint was attacked by a group of armed men. The police arrived to find that the robbers had taken several employees hostage. The leader was recognized as convicted bank robber Farley Fleeter, head of a roving gang of robbers known as the Mad Men. After an hour in the standoff, a mysterious shadow quickly flew over the mint, briefly distracting both the Mad Men and the police. Skeets appeared in the mint, infiltrating it through the ventilation system. He took down two of the dozen-or-so Mad Men before remotely hacking the doors and shutting off the villains’ access to the room they were holding all of their hostages in. With the hostages secure, The Blue Beetle and Booster Gold descended from the Bug ship hovering above the mint, crashing through the skylight. Needless to say, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold won the day and tied up the Mad Men. Unfortunately, the police also arrested Mike and Ted for obstructing a police operation and putting the hostages in more danger. The Flash then arrived to vouch for Blue and Gold, saying that they’re “honorary reserve members” of the Justice League, and they got off scott free.
Later, at their workshop, Ted was looking over the data from their environmental radial scanner while Mike was on the phone with the agent he hired. Ted came to the conclusion that the bolt of lightning that struck Skeets the other night, as he told Mike, was actually a data stream, not lightning. Mike asked Skeets and he chirped back that he has no idea. But then, he went haywire and displayed a hologram that encompassed the whole room. The image displayed an older Mike and Ted launching the data stream into a time portal before soldiers, bearing the symbol of Ultraman, leader of The Syndicate, barged in and killed Mike and Ted. The real Mike and Ted realized that this was the future, one ruled by The Syndicate!
Notes:
* Mike Carter has no relationship with J. Allen Carter, the Vice President who assassinated by the Syndicate.
* The Mad Men’s design would be based on Needham Comics’ version of them, with a touch of Don Draper for Farley Fleeter.
* The data stream that was sent to the past was a corrupted message containing a warning about the Syndicate’s plans to rule Earth.
** The data stream accidentally activated Skeets’ AI.
* Booster Gold’s suit has repulsor boosters in his hands and feet that allow flight and force blasts; his helm has scanners in the visor and a rebreather.
* Blue Beetle’s suit has concealed, non-lethal weapons and tools, such as taser guns; The Bug also has non-lethal projectiles and rappelling ropes.
** Mike and Ted’s costumes from The Phonebooth would be based on their original comics’ appearance.
